The Forms in the Book

Those of you who have used previous editions will note that the forms are a bit different this time. Instead of the blank forms at the back of the book, they’re now all downloadable online. Some of the forms will be the same as those that were on the CD, where you’ll see the gray fields to fill–in–the–blanks. You’ll find that other forms/releases/ contracts will be original Word and Excel files that can be altered. Being able to personalize some of these documents to make them more specific to your particular show is going to make a big difference.

The forms you’ll find throughout the book as examples are a mixed bag. Some are the same as those used in previous editions (why fix the ones that still work?). To illustrate how to fill them out, they’re filled out by hand with an assortment of fictitious names and situations. The fictitious name of our production company is XYZ Productions, and the name of the show is Herby’s Summer Vacation. Note, however, that from one situation to another, Herby’s Summer Vacation is either a feature film, a cable movie, a movie for television or a television series, with the current episode being Boys Night Out.

Some of the sample forms are pretty easy to understand as they are and have been left blank. Others (mostly the releases and agreements) contain prompts throughout the document, such as [NAME OF PRODUCTION ENTITY], [TITLE OF PICTURE], etc., that indicate what information is required where.

In the previous edition, all of the union and guild contracts and report forms were found in the chapter on unions and guilds. But as most are now available on their respective websites, and all that remain are the SAG forms, they’ve been moved to Chapter 12 (Principal Talent).

Some of the new documents include a Competitive Bid Form, a Loss & Damage Report Form, a Confidentiality Agreement, a Deferral Agreement, a five-page generic insurance application, a Parental Consent Form and a Nudity Release. Several of the forms have been updated, including the Call Sheet and Production Report.

As with all previous editions, you’ll find a lot of standard forms and a few that I created (like the Cast Information Sheet) just to make my (and your) job(s) a little easier. Use them as they are or as templates to create your own. The thing about forms that most people don’t get is that if you’ll take the time to fill out the ones you don’t have to, it’ll save you time in the long run in terms of keeping more organized and being able to better manage the voluminous amount of details associated with each production.

I hope you find them helpful!